On the fourth day of the trial, the court heard from Oscar's neighbour, radiologist Dr Johan Stipp. Recalling the night of Valentine's Day last year when Reeva died, Dr Johan said that he had heard gunshots and cries for help, so he went over to the couple's Pretoria home.

Oscar Pistorius

As the doctor gave his evidence, Oscar wept and put his hands over his ears, clearly disturbed by the testimony.

The court heard that after Dr Johan was let into the athlete's home, he saw Oscar kneeling by Reeva's body. The model was barely alive and badly wounded.

According to Dr Johan's testimony, Oscar told him: "I shot her. I thought she was a burglar."

The witness then gave a graphic detail of Reeva's injuries and described seeing "brain tissue in her hair". At the description, Oscar appeared to retch as he was passed a plastic bag by a policeman.

The doctor said he tried to assist Reeva and that he "opened her airway and look for signs of life."

"Oscar was crying all the time,'' continued Dr Johan in court. "He was praying to God [saying] 'Please let her live.' He said, at one point while he was praying, he would dedicate his life and her life to God if she would only live and not die that night."

Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar

The witness added that he feared Oscar was in such an emotional state that he would hurt himself, and so he asked the security guard who was present where the gun was. The security guard said he did not know.

Also in his testimony, Dr Johan confirmed that when he heard the gunshots, "all the lights at Oscar's house were on" — in contradiction to Oscar's version of events which stated that the house was dark. The witness added that he saw a figure moving from right to left in the bathroom window.

Reeva's relative and Oscar's sister Aimee

During the court break, Oscar was seen being comforted by his sister Aimee. She then approached some of Reeva's relatives in a remarkable gesture, and spoke to them including Reeva's cousin Kim. Aimee looked tearful as she lay a consoling hand on Kim's arm.